wooly

Maybe Rompola wasn't so crazy after all for not getting his buck officially scored and entered(not to get off topic). Sounds like a lot of crap to me, but who the heck am I? : I guess I'll just keep shooting the little one to avoid any controvery!

I've been thinking about posting the same thing for the past week or so. Even with constant rain and chilly temps they are already swarming relentlessly. I've been in the woods quite a bit lately and have had to smoke like a chimney to keep them at bay. Wish I hadn't given that Therma-cell to pops and maybe kept it for myself. : Damn ciggys are too expensive to use as a bug repellent but they do work super. Just wait till the skeeters come out....OMG, I don't even want to think about it with as wet as it's been this spring. >

Hey guys, I understand I'm rambling at this point but I truely appreciate all the great comments and this IS my post so I can do as I wish with it,lol! A lot of times I believe most of the encounters we experience afield are easily forgotten or we're so focused on the hunt and a kill that we pay no attention to the little things we walk by on a daily basis. I don't remember who said it, but in one of our Nugent threads, a member made refference to Teds feelings of being "high" on the outdoors and because of the way he portrayed himself in his vid clips. Just for the record, I'm neither a lover or hater of Uncle Ted but I can certainly relate to his passion for the beauties of nature, and am just as easily excited at the most seemingly insignifacant things! I almost took offence that others could question what truely stimulates another man in this way... untill I realized I get just as excited about the same chit when it comes to nature as he does and didn't expect everyone to believe how deep it is. A little more soft spoken on my end, but if you get me talking, or a critter in front of my cam sights....LOOK OUT!!! I'm on cloud 9 praying I capture the momment just right, but sometimes my greenhorn skill level out weighs my ability. :-[ I think as most of you can already see, I'm not a professional photographer with 1000's of dollars in equiptment tied up in my sack, nor years of experience under my belt. Just another guy like the rest of ya's that found a new hobby that has really enlightened me on my VERY limited budget and bargain basement gear, and now I make the most of every day with my new set of "cross-hairs". I give many thanx to Chenango Dave from this site for helping me with my venture into DSLR's. He's been a great help to me and has more impressive photos than you can shake a stick at on his Pbase site. No..., I haven't given up hunting, but personal issues have heald me back recently to hunt the way I'd like. When it comes to bringing my pics to life, I hope you can appreciate the time and effort involved in each and every one whether they come out photographicly correct or not. I've been learning along the way and have seen some improvements since my start. I'm always hoping to do better for everyones enjoyment including my own most of all. I'm hoping by next fall to have many more BIG BUCK eye candy to share with you all. This off season is one of my favorite times to keep a close eye on the growing racks, so stay tuned as I try to perfect my camera skills on what I know you are all waiting for!

Never heard of it nor been there, but that's some place I'm definately gonna have to look into if it's not too far. Thanks for the tip!

Cool hunt! Guess I'm one of those that couldn't drop the hammer on a yote out of season either. I'm sure their growing numbers in my area are beginning to take their toll on many other species that used to be common but very rare to see anymore. Other wildlife has had to adapt or get eaten. The little smallgame sign I've seen over the last few winters just leads me to believe these surviving prey species have found a way to do the latter which makes them much less visable to us. I suppose it's cyclical and once they eat everything in site, most of the smaller critters will return in droves again once the yotes move on. Not to mention the replenishment of smallgame food sources and habitat that supports them. I think our local hatred for the yote has come from them becoming our biggest natural competitor for game species so we tend to exagerate their impact. They really are some facinating creatures when you look at how they've expanded their range and and continue to thrive as far as we've put a stranglehold on their natural environment .....just not as tastey as others we like on our plates.

I also heard early this morning that he's been dead for 2 weeks and they were conducting DNA tests to make sure it was him. Later this morning they said he was killed Friday. :-\ I surely dunno.

I heard they didn't want his burrial site to become a shrine so they just dumped him this way. Either way, glad that he's gone.

WTG GAL! Go get us another tomorrow! Good job on the voice calling....I've never been much good at that.

Hahaha- I can respect that. They're not for everybody to enjoy! Even our safe snakes have some pretty frightening attitudes when provoked. I think that's what I like the most about them. Most often they just go un-noticed and keep to themselves untill a dork like me comes along,lol. :

Congrats shu! By the sound of things, you've given the little raskles a much brighter outlook on life then what they had! Very big of you to take them into your fam that way! Enjoy!

Well, I can't focus under 6 feet so I was right at the edge of that for the pics on the slithery snake. I have a bit of an obsession (passion) for reptiles so I have to catch them once I find one of any species. I'm a bit of a nut that way when it comes to creepy crawly critters that can bite me. One of these days I'd like to run into a Timber Rattler on my home turf just for the experience, but I haven't had any luck with that yet! :'( I think a lot of folks are just scared of snakes because they don't have the knowledge to identify a venomous species from the harmless ones and they can be tough to seperate especialy if they catch you by surprise in the field. We really don't have many here in NY for much concern to run into them often as hard as some of us seek them out. When I was a kid, I'd let them bite me on purpose to show my mom they weren't any threat to her while she played in the garden. Once upon a time on a Canadian fishing trip I caught a rattler before I was smart enough to know what it was. I wish I had my camera for that one,lol.

I appreciate the comments guys. Glad I could bring them to you! Thanks for checking them out.

Thanks Burt! I think sometimes we take for granted or don't pay any attention to the little natural beauties that surround us every day. It's been a real fun spring for me so far. Heck, I'll admit I never gave these little chits a second look untill I started carrying my cam everywhere.

I do it. Typicaly don't set them at standard 3 foot line of sight height, and try to brush them in. Hide your straps as I think that's what gives away most cams is the contrast of them on the tree trunk. I try to mount my cams low and strap foliage and branches to the tree along with them. You are taking a chance sometimes. I put mine in some areas that see a lot of foot traffic and fortunately haven't had one stolen yet. If you got some old camo garments to slice up and glue onto the cams it seems to help hide them as well. I say the uglier they look the better they blend in to the natural surroundings so don't go for a snug fit that outlines the square shape of the cam.

...anything with a heartbeat gets it's picture taken lately. : Sorry for these being non- hunting related. I've been turkey hunting for the last two weeks with the camera and calls and haven't seen or heard a gobbler yet so you'll have to settle for these. ;D My first snake of the year. I think he just swallowed a frog. Had to be close to a 4 footer. Next up was this Great Grey Slug. I chased him around for a while before he finally tired out enough to stop for a pic or two. Man am I out of shape! This friggin' thing was a good 5 or 6 inches!! He was only the 2'nd one I've ever found here. Back at the pond, I had to inform Kermits family one of their friends would not be joining them for an afternoon swim. :'( Long story, but I believe Mrs Snake swallowed the frog to catch the spider that wiggled and jiggled and giggled inside her. : I offered up a ladybug for good luck. A 6 spotted beatle... A little salamander... A purdy little flower I made neon,lol! Same two deer from this winter. The one has a very distinguishable black nose. And finally another spring runoff flowing down to the crick. Now if I could just find some darn turkeys, I'd be a happy man.

Sorry to hear of your loss Ed. Thoughts and prayers for you and Mom.

Just got done with a serious soaker here. We got so much rain in a short while the nightcrawlers had to come up for air about 2 hours early. Friggin NY weather sucks! >

I've seen better! Sweet shots bud!

That's what I'm talkin' about. It could have just as easily been 6 to zip going into the second but Miller kept us in it even thoough one snuck through. The better team won the series....that's all there is to it. I just didn't think the Sabres were gonna lay down and die like they did in game 7. They didn't even look like they deserved to be on the same ice. Does Brierre make anybody else want to hop in their TV and pop him in the head just once. >

Yup, same here guys. I felt like some kinda traitor tuning out, but it was just to painfull to watch any more. :'( I thought after the 1'st period Miller was hot enough to keep it a low scoring game and we'd have a chance.....then that dredded 2'nd period rolled along and they couldn't get the 1'st goal. : The good news is, at least we don't have to suffer through another Bills season after this let down. :-\

It wouldn't be very hard, expensive, or time consuming to run a single 3/4" Pex piping line from one corner to the opposite. I'll bet even you could string up 200 ft of the stuff in 15 minutes or so. That's where you'll need a dual check valve installed on the water main to prevent this. http://www.pexsupply.com/Watts-0061791-3-4-7U2-2-Dual-Check-Valve-5461000-p I've litterally installed hundreds of these back up systems of all types back when I was working. Looking at the new hydro powered pumps compared to a few years ago, I guess they come pre-assembled now if I read that first link right. The do-it-yourselfer has it made these days. Those things used to have about 50 microscopic springs, screws and other miscelanious parts that the manufacturer purposely lubed up at the factory to ruin your weekend. : The biggest problem we ever really ran into with them was fitting the sump pit lid back on propperly with all the new piping sticking up and how high the backup float sits in the pit. You'll need your sawzall to modify that.

Check out the Zoeller line up Ed. Good pumps. Liberty is another, but they run in cycles of defective pumps it seems. : If you're not on a well, here's another cheaper option for ya, but be warned.....they're a pain in the arse to put in. Lots o' little parts that like to fall in the sump pit. > http://www.irawoods.com/Zoeller-503-0005-Home-Guard-Max-Water-Powered-Emergency-Backup-Pump-System?sc=2&category=48901

Now that's pretty cool to me seeing I've never seen that much sign in one place before. I've got one porky stripping a mess of trees in an area but I can't find him or his home. I can't say I have enough of them to know much about them. Are these critters mostly nocturnal?

I'll be doing a lot more job hunting.

I'm so dehydrated I've run out of tears. :'( On to lucky game #7! ???